Merced council discusses SB 707 e‑comments and remote participation; staff to return with options

City staff presented options to implement SB 707 changes to meetings, including a web‑portal 'e‑comments' feature tied to agenda items and telephonic two‑way participation that requires pre‑registration. Jennifer Parsley, assistant city clerk, explained the vendor options and potential cutoff times for accepting e‑comments and remote registration.

Parsn: "The e comments feature allows members of the public to submit written comments on agenda items electronically, like directly onto the agenda item itself," Parsley said, describing how submitted comments would appear on a web portal in real time. Council members and members of the public raised operational and equity concerns: several members worried that accepting live e‑comments during meetings could create distractions and uneven access to information if councilors receive comments at different times; others argued that a more permissive approach better serves SB 707’s aim to broaden participation.

The council discussed three practical approaches: (1) retain email submittals with a 1PM deadline, (2) allow e‑comments until one hour before the meeting, or (3) enable registration that closes at the start (or end) of each agenda item so remote and in‑person participants have equal time. Several council members voiced a preference for stopping registration at the start of each agenda item to keep proceedings manageable while preserving access for citizens arriving closer to an item. Members also directed staff to test vendor settings and return with a recommendation at the June 1 meeting.

Staff will run trial sessions with the vendor and present a formal recommendation and possible vote on June 1, 2026.